Deepest Star of Night
by Muinthil
Summary: Choices. It's part of growing up. They aren't always easy to make and the consequences can bring you down paths you never would have imagined. Can the bonds of friendship survive? Can love continue to grow with rumors of war on the horizon? SBOC SSOC JPLE
1. Piss Off Potter

**Everything involving the Harry Potter world does not belong to us (although we really wish Sirius and Snape did! lol ) We do own Samiya and Cate...they are our own creations. Please read and review! There should be another chapter up soon! Thanks to our wonderful beta, who is helping us make this an even better story!**

**Chapter One**

"You two could give me a hand with this," Cate Bajer grunted, dragging her over packed trunk into the compartment on the Hogwarts Express. Lily Evans and Samiya Rosa laughed as they both helped lift the trunk into the overhead rack.

"You bring a dead body in there, Cate?" Samiya laughed and flopped back onto the seat. None of the girls could believe they were starting their seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It felt like only yesterday they met as shy, unaware first years at the Sorting Ceremony.

"Yeah 'cause you never know when you'll need one," Cate commented dryly. "I wanted to make sure I wouldn't forget anything." She constantly over packed when she went anywhere. But at least she was always prepared.

"Did you do anything interesting in Greece this year?" Lily asked curiously. Cate and her parents spent every summer at their villa in Greece.

"The usual, hiding away in the corner at my parents boring parties," She laughed. Her parents were high in society and had a party almost every weekend through the entire summer. Cate would stay for a few minutes to make an appearance and usually try to escape back to her room once her parents were too caught up in the party to notice she was missing. "What about you, Lily? Were you able to get away from your sister as you were hoping?"

"For most of the time. I had a summer job at an ice cream shop. I worked pretty much everyday so I hardly saw Petunia. When I was home, she was out with her boyfriend anyway," Lily explained. The relationship between her and her sister had grown worse throughout the years and Lily had been dreading the summer break because of it.

"Well at least it's our last year and you can move out of that house," Samiya commented. "I pretty much sat around and did absolutely nothing all summer… it was great! I hung around the pool and spent time with my family when they weren't at work." Samiya's parents and brother both worked long hours at the Ministry. Her father and brother were both Aurors and her mother worked at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Her sister was a Healer at St. Mungo's so their work schedules were very hectic. There were times she felt like none of them were every around. Then there were times she wished they weren't around so much!

"That explains the tan," Lily laughed, noticing how dark Samiya had gotten over the summer.

"It's great, isn't it! Too bad it'll fade in about a month or so," she commented, knowing that she was never able to keep a tan for long. The train had just left the station when the door to their compartment was rudely flung open.

"Here you are Evans…. Trying to avoid your Head Girl duties?" James teased as he walked in with Sirius, Remus, and Peter in tow.

"I already did my rounds, Potter. What excuse do you have?" she asked with raised eyebrows. The last thing Lily wanted was to deal with James Potter and the rest of the incredibly annoying Marauders. They had been obnoxious since the moment she had met them, and it obviously wasn't going to change anytime soon.

"I've done my share. Slytherin's down quite a few points already," James smirked and the rest of the boys started laughing, thinking back on their earlier encounter with Avery, Rosier, and Wilkes.

"I really don't know what Dumbledore was thinking when he made you Head Boy," Samiya commented, glaring at the boys. In fact all three girls were giving the Marauders dirty looks.

"What do you know? You haven't even been a prefect," Sirius replied haughtily, proud that his best friend had moved up in the world.

"You haven't been either, Black." Samiya laughed coldly. "Remus is the one who's a prefect." He made a face at her and then seemed to realize Cate was sitting there, looking on with amusement.

"Shouldn't you be with your Slytherin friends?" he asked. It was rare to find a Slytherin spending time with Gryffindors, but Cate wasn't your typical Slytherin.

"Don't be a prat," Cate said rolling her eyes. After six years of comments about being friends with the 'enemy' she had gotten rather used to it. Just then, James noticed Snape passing by, carefully carrying a potions set to take back to his compartment.

"Oh look, Snivellus got himself a new chemistry set!" He laughed, causing Snape to pause in the doorway. His eyes narrowed at the sight of the Gryffindor boys snickering at him.

"Piss off, Potter," he said cruelly. James and Sirius exchanged a grin. Snape had no clue what he was getting into. Let the fun begin!

"I'd watch what I'd say if I were you, Snivelly. You're talking to the _Head Boy_." James smirked, showing off his badge. Snape looked at him in disbelief. Sneering, he turned to leave but he didn't realize that Sirius had cast a spell while James was distracting him. As he turned, he suddenly found himself falling to the ground, his new potion set shattering as it landed a few feet away from him. His shoelaces had been tied together.

"You think you're funny?" Cate cried out - standing from where she was sitting. She whipped out her wand and quickly repaired the potion set and untied Snape's shoes.

"We're just having fun!" Sirius laughed. Remus shook his head and looked out the window, trying his best to ignore everything that was happening. He was torn from his duties as prefect and his loyalty to his friends. Instead, he just tried to ignore the situation as best as possible.

"You're really shallow if your idea of fun is being a bully to everyone else!" Cate shouted and stormed out of the compartment leaving Snape to pick himself up from the ground.

"You're a real git! You think you're so much better than everyone else but all you do is end up looking like a fool!" Samiya frowned, pushing past him and following after Cate.

"Who does she think she is?" He laughed, looking towards James and Peter who were also laughing. Lily shook her head reproachfully,

"You've really screwed up this time, Potter," She glared, leaving the compartment after her two friends. James frowned staring after her. Why was he always blamed for everything?

At the Sorting ceremony, Cate left Lily and Samiya to take a seat at the end of the Slytherin table. She ignored the cold looks she received from her classmates, and focused her attention on watching the rest of the school file into the room. Suddenly she could feel someone watching her. Looking across the table, she found Snape glaring at her from where he had taken a seat right opposite her.

"Can I help you?" Cate asked, raising an eyebrow. Snape and her had never really spoken much to each other, although they were in the same year and had most of their classes together. They both usually kept to themselves.

"What do you think you were doing?" he demanded coldly.

"You mean back on the train?" she asked, not sure what he was talking about. He glared harder, confirming that was what he had meant.

"I don't need some girl fighting my battles. Especially you." Cate winced at the last part but didn't have to question what he meant by it. She knew that her housemates thought her to be a traitor since she was friends with Gryffindors. She had become an outcast for it. There had been many instances where she had actually questioned why the Sorting Hat had placed her in Slytherin, instead of one of the other houses.

"Well excuse me for trying to help," Cate said returning the glare.

"Next time mind your own business," Snape stated, just as McGonagall signaled for silence for the ceremony to begin.

Lily and Samiya headed to their table, wishing for the hundredth time that Cate could be allowed to sit with them. They knew she hated sitting by herself, being subjected to her housemates' taunts. The two girls took seats at the middle of the table. As soon as they sat down, James and Sirius sat down on either side of them with Remus and Peter taking the seats across. Both Samiya and Lily let out low groans.

"What do you boys want?" Lily sighed, hoping that they would leave them alone.

"Ouch! I'm wounded, Evans. You make it seem like you don't want us around." James grinned, slinging his arms over Lily's shoulder.

"What made you think we _wanted _you around?" Samiya answered as Lily pushed James' arm away.

"You're not still sore about what happened on the train, are you?" Sirius asked slightly surprised. He had thought the girls would have gotten over it by now. Remus just shook his head at the absurdity of his friends. He knew the girls would still be upset and thought that it would be best if James and Sirius left them alone. Obviously, they didn't listen to him.

"You're both idiots," Samiya stated and then turned to watch the sorting, both her and Lily trying their best to ignore the boys until they could escape to the common room.


	2. I’m going to be marrying you

This is the newly revised version of Chapter 2

**This is the newly revised version of Chapter 2. We are currently going back and fixing the story with the help of our wonderful beta!! Don't worry; new chapters will be up soon. Please send a review to let us know your thoughts so far.**

**Chapter Two**

"Oh great! I had to oversleep today of all days!" Cate muttered to herself as she ran towards the first class of the year, double potions with Gryffindor. Although Cate was one of Professor Slughorn's favorites, she wouldn't make a good impression strolling in late the first day of class…

Running into the classroom she noticed that she had arrived just in time. The Professor was too busy talking to Lily and Samiya to notice her come in late. Glancing around, she noticed that all the good seats were already taken. Potter and Black were seated in Cate's usual spot, close to Lily and Samiya. Will they ever take a hint? The only open seat left was right next to Severus Snape.

"What do you think you're doing?" Severus asked as she sat down next to him. As if yesterday wasn't enough torture, here she was again, smiling at him, trying to be friendly. Didn't Bajer understand that he wanted to be left alone?

"Sitting down. What does it look like to you?" Cate casually replied, preparing her potions materials for the day's lesson. Severus chose to ignore her, continuing to prepare his own materials. Usually he'd have a smart answer for her, but since when did he have to answer to a traitor like her?

"Settle down class. Scales and potions ingredients out. And most importantly, don't forget your copies of _Advanced Potions Making,_" Professor Slughorn called out, pausing for a moment as the students began to take out their materials. "As you all know, this is your final year at Hogwarts and with it you will be taking your N.E.W.T. Exams. This will not be an easy year but I'm sure that you will do brilliantly in the future, such as Miss Evans, whom I am sure will succeed as a magnificent Healer. Also, Miss Rosa who will take her place among the finest Aurors the Ministry has ever seen." Both Lily and Samiya smiled proudly at this final comment. Several students around the room rolled their eyes. It was known that Slughorn had his favorites, the two Gryffindors obviously falling into that category.

"This is all a bunch of rubbish," Sirius whispered to James "All these tests are a waste of our time." Ever since the O.W.L's, Sirius hadn't been very enthusiastic about taking any more tests. He preferred learning to actually use the theories than writing essays about the origin of the spell or potion.

"SHHHHH," the girls both said from their seats, which were unfortunately, right in front of the two boys.

"Why are you two so worried? Afraid that seven years of kissing up to Slughorn won't be enough to get a job?" James asked, leaning towards Lily and Samiya. These girls were so uptight! They were always sitting in front of the class, hanging on to the professor's every word. Well, maybe not _that_ extreme.

"You really should start paying attention, Potter. The last time I checked I didn't see any openings for Quidditch Cup winners with big heads like you," Lily retorted, turning around towards them as Slughorn made his way to the opposite side of the room to assist one of the Slytherin's.

"Or for annoying sidekicks who think they're the world's gift to women," Samiya added, smirking at Sirius. He frowned. He'd usually be willing to teach both girls a lesson, especially after many years of pranking them. But there was something interesting about Samiya Rosa that he'd never seen before, almost intriguing in a way. Before he could say anything else James replied.

"I already know what I'm doing after I leave Hogwarts."

"Really? Selling your autobiography to the highest bidder maybe?" Lily teased lightly. She turned back to chopping the ginger roots for the potion.

"No. I'm going to be marrying you," he stated confidently as Sirius patted him on the back.

"Good job Prongs!" Sirius laughed, enjoying the shocked look on Lily's face. She quickly turned around, her face as red as her hair. He had some nerve! Why did he always have to embarrass her like that? And why was Samiya laughing?

"Come on, Lily! You have to admit it was a good answer," Samiya laughed. Out of all the lame things that James Potter had said throughout their seven years at school, she had to admit…that was a pretty smooth comment, and enough to leave her friend speechless.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Black! Unless you want to create an explosion in my classroom I suggest you pay attention to your potion," Slughorn called out, finally noticing that the group of Gryffindors wasn't doing the assignment he had given them.

"Yes, Professor," Sirius said innocently, and waited until Slughorn turned towards Snape and Bajer's potion before talking to Samiya once more. "You know, you going to have to start being a little nicer to me."

"And why is that?" she replied, not bothering to turn away from her potion. Sirius leaned in closer.

"Because when Prongs marries Evans you and I are going to be spending a lot of time together."

"HA! Is that so?" Where did these boys get their ideas? It was obvious that they didn't lack self-confidence.

"Yeah. We might be spending a lot of time…alone. So I'm thinking we could get better acquainted," Sirius said smoothly, winking suggestively at her as he turned back to work on the final step of the instructions.

"Do you always get your girlfriends with such lame pick up lines?" Samiya asked, interrupting Sirius before he could finish.

"That's what you say now," he retorted, adding the last ingredient to his potion.

"Severus, do you have the last ingredient? Severus?" Cate had been quietly working on her potion since beginning their in-class assignment. Occasionally she glanced towards her friends on the other side of the room who seemed to be having more fun than she was. It wasn't easy working with a potions partner who didn't even want to look at you, and God forbid he's ever dream of speaking to you!.

Looking up from her potion she caught sight of a smirking Severus levitating something straight into Black and Potter's cauldron. Neither James nor Sirius had noticed, as they were bickering childishly with Samiya and Lily. As soon as Black had put in the last ingredient to the potion, it exploded violently, the slippery contents spilling all over them.

Lily and Samiya couldn't contain their excitement and laughter over what had just happened. Even Professor Slughorn had a difficult time hiding a smile as he sent the boys to the hospital wing, who by now had thick brown hair starting to cover their entire bodies.

"See you later boys!" Samiya laughed as they left sulking. Cate noticed them give Snape a dirty look. She knew that they would be plotting their revenge soon.

"This is going to make things worse you know." Cate sighed, turning to Snape who was rather proud of himself. Boys were so immature! Severus Snape had gained the upper hand now but he was going to have all four of the Marauders up on him next time. And this time they had an excuse. He'd never learn.

"Stay out of it, Bajer," Snape stated coldly, refusing to let her bring down his triumph.

"So you do know who I am," Cate teased lightly. She had never been sure if Severus Snape even knew her first name seeing as he always referred to her as "you" or "Bajer". Maybe he didn't hate her after all?

"Of course I know who you are. You're the pitiful Gryffindor wannabe." Snape sneered as he began putting his potions materials away.

"You don't even know me," Cate coolly stated as she left the classroom with her belongings. So much for being nice to him.


	3. If it isn't the Gryffindor Wannabe

Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Cate! Wait up!" Samiya called out as she and Lily caught up to her in staircase, after leaving the classroom. Cate slowed down a bit as the two girls reached her.

"What was that all about?" Lily asked, noticing how Cate had stormed out the classroom door. She usually waited for them but hadn't even given her or Samiya a second look.

"Sorry. Snape was just being a git." Cate sighed as they headed outside for their afternoon break. "He was the one that made Potter and Black's potion explode."

"Well I could have told you that." Samiya laughed. They were all used to the ongoing feud between the Marauders and the Slytherin boy. No one really knew why it had began in the first place, but it had started back in their first year hadn't come to an end yet. "But really, Cate, it's not like they were innocent to begin with. They probably deserved what happened to some extent."

"I just think it's dumb," Cate replied, shrugging lightly as they took a seat under one of the trees near the edge of the lake. This was their favorite spot to sit in between their classes. The tree stood tall and gave the perfect amount of shade on sunny afternoons.

"Why do you care so much anyway?" Lily asked. Usually Cate just rolled her eyes and ignored the actions of the boys. She never talked to either the Marauders or Snape much anyway.

"I don't care," Cate protested. "Their fighting is just really immature. I mean we're seventh years. They need to grow up!"

"I think you like him." Samiya grinned teasingly. Cate looked at her, surprised.

"Like who? Snape?" she asked bewildered. "I've hardly said two words to him."

"You're just in denial." Samiya grinned, enjoying egging her friend on. It was hard to get Cate riled up but it was fun when she finally did. "I mean think about it, Lily. She's probably never even spoken to Snape until yesterday on the train. There she defended him against James and Sirius. Then today she's his potions partner."

"You're _insane_!" Cate declared, blushing slightly.

"She does have a point, Cate." Lily grinned. "This could be the start of a beautiful relationship."

"Ugh! I can't believe you just used the word beautiful in relation to Severus Snape!" Samiya groaned, making gagging gestures. Cate just rolled her eyes and laughed at her friends.

"Well if I like Snape so much, then you two must be desperately in love with Sirius and James," Cate said, turning the tables on her friends. She wasn't about to let them get away with teasing her. Samiya fell back onto the grass, acting like Cate had just killed her.

"Even if James was the last boy on earth, I still wouldn't look at him twice," Lily argued, shuddering slightly. The thought of falling in love with James Potter was too much to bear. "I mean he's so in love with himself, he wouldn't have any love left over for me."

"That's not true, Lily. He's been asking you out since first year," Samiya chimed in, looking up at her friend.

"Actually since third year and have I even once stopped to consider his offer?" she replied with raised eyebrows.

"I don't know, have you?" Cate asked, grinning. Lily looked at her with a sickened expression. "I'll take that as a no."

"Well I would probably date James before I would date Sirius, if I had to choose," Samiya said thoughtfully.

"Are you kidding? James is so much worse than Sirius," Lily argued. She couldn't imagine anyone even _thinking_ of dating James.

"At least James knows how to treat a girl for the most part. Sirius has a new girl every few weeks. Potter has at least stayed committed to you even though you two aren't even in a relationship," she reasoned.

"You know, she does have a point," Cate stated. James would make the better boyfriend when comparing him to Sirius. Sirius had dated most of the girls in their year, except for the girls in Slytherin. The rivalry was too strong for him to start looking in the Slytherin house for any possible snogs.

"Oh shut up. You like Snape!" Lily shot back. Cate looked at her with wide eyes as Samiya burst out laughing. The look on her face was just too much!

It was later in the evening when Cate finally made her way back to the Slytherin common room. After dinner she had retreated to the library to work on her Charms essay, while Samiya and Lily headed off to Gryffindor Tower. Cate was one of the few students using the library that evening since it was only the first day of school. It usually took a few days for the students to get back into the schoolwork mode. Cate preferred having the library to herself. There were fewer distractions and the more time she took, the less time she had to spend with her housemates. Especially when there was a two-foot essay assigned the first day of class! Of course the Ravenclaws didn't mind the assignment, the studious lout they were. Cate could list several other things should would rather be doing. At least she would have it done and out of the way.

As she walked down into the dungeons, where the Slytherin rooms were located, she prayed that no one would be around. At least the specific people who had decided to make her life hell, that being Narcissa Black and her little group. Her prayers were, unfortunately, not answered as she slipped into the common room. Taking up the seats on the black leather couches were Narcissa Black, her best friend Janet Armstrong, Wilkes, Avery, and Severus Snape. The two girls were complete opposites, Narcissa having long platinum blond hair and Janet with a short black bob. They were the two most desired witches in the Slytherin house and they knew it!

"Well, well. If it isn't the Gryffindor wannabe." Narcissa sneered as she noticed Cate trying to slip by, heading towards the stairs leading to the girls' dormitory. Cate cringed as the snickers of her housemates. Luck definitely was not on her side tonight! Out of all her housemates, these were the ones she despised the most, minus Snape. Since first year Narcissa and her followers tormented her. It was most likely the reason why she preferred being around the Gryffindors.

"With your family being such strong purebloods, I can't imagine why you would want to hang around with Rosa and Evans. I guess you're just the black sheep of the Bajer household," Narcissa continued. Cate glared at them but didn't respond. There was some truth to what the blonde Slytherin said. Her parents didn't approve of her choice in friends. In fact, they chose to ignore the fact that she was friends with a Muggle-born and the daughter of an Auror. Narcissa's group laughed and jeered at her as she made her way to her room, desperate for some solitude. She didn't even notice that there was one person who did not join in the teasing, that person being Severus Snape.


	4. It's not my fault

Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

As soon as James and Sirius left the Hospital Wing, with considerably less hair than they had yesterday, they immediately began plotting their revenge against Severus Snape. Something bigger, badder, and more embarrassing than the fiasco that occurred in Professor Slughorn's classroom. If Snivellus thought he could get the best of them, he was sorely mistaken…he should've learned that lesson during their first year!

"Alright let's think boys! This shouldn't be difficult," James said as they walked towards their first class of the day - Transfiguration. "We always have the upper hand over him, and that's bloody well not going to change now!"

"You could try inflating his head. Oh wait! I forgot you and Sirius already did that." Peter suggested, remembering that they had already used that on Bertram Aubrey last term. It cost them a double detention when his head swelled to twice its normal size. It was quite funny actually and well worth the detention.

"Please tell me you have a good idea Moony!" James was growing impatient as Remus silently pondered his answer. It was usually easy for them to find ways to get back at Severus Snape, but today none of them could think of anything original. Everything they thought of had either already been done before, or was simply not 'big' enough.

"I'm sure I found a really good one while I was reading my new book. I'll look at it after class and let you know."

"What about it, Padfoot? Think we can wait till after class?" James was particularly puzzled by Sirius's attitude this morning. Sirius was always excited about pranking someone, but today his mind was elsewhere. He had barely said a word all morning.

"Sure, James." He mumbled before he went back to thinking about the day before. He had asked himself the same question many times but he still didn't have the answer. Who does Rosa think she is anyway? Does she honestly think that because she's an Auror's daughter she's better than anyone else? And why did he, Sirius Black, care what she thought? She was just a girl. Good for one thing and one thing only.

Just as soon as those thoughts entered his mind, he caught sight of Samiya and Lily entering the classroom. Well, one thing was for sure…it wasn't over just yet!

"What's his problem?" James asked Remus and Peter as Sirius walked away without saying another word. Running inside the classroom, Sirius caught sight of an empty desk right behind Samiya.

"Can you believe her? And then she said….What are you doing here?" Samiya added, after finally noticing Sirius sitting right behind them, watching the two girls was a clearly amused expression.. He leaned back in the chair making himself comfortable.

"Isn't this an empty desk?"

"Yes. But your friends are on the other side of the classroom Black. What do you want?"

"Just thought I'd try a change of scenery." He smiled innocently, leaning back in his chair. He couldn't help but smile at Samiya's confused expression. She obviously couldn't tell what his true intentions were in regards to sitting behind her and Lily.

"I see you shaved." Both girls laughed loudly at Samiya's comment. Besides a few stray hairs here and there, both James and Sirius seemed to be back to normal but it would take a long time to forget that just yesterday they looked a two hairy bears.

"HA HA! Very funny." Sirius frowned, leaning towards the girls. "You're laughing now, but just wait till the both of you see what we have planned for Snivellus." He added as Professor McGonagall entered the classroom. Titling back his chair, he couldn't help but smile at the fact that Samiya was going to pay dearly for her comment.

It didn't take long for Sirius to notice how hard Samiya worked in every one of her classes. Evans and her were a regular pair of teacher's pets! It was either one or the other that usually had the right answers and while not answering, Samiya was writing down as much as she could.

"PSSST…Rosa."

"Yes, Black?" Samiya replied, not bothering to look back at Sirius. She was still half-paying attention to the class which was a review of non-verbal spells.

"Can you hand me an extra quill? I forgot mine."

"Ask someone who cares." She replied, copying the notes from the board.

"Then I have no other choice than to talk to you the rest of the class." Samiya turned around roughly. What was he trying to pull? Get her to fail Transfiguration?

"Leave me alone…can't you see we're in the middle of class?"

Sirius smirked, leaning back in his chair once more. Getting her mad was easier than he thought and of course, it had its advantages. She looked cute when she was mad. Samiya turned back towards the front of the classroom, trying to catch up in the material.

"Why don't you stop pretending to ignore me and talk to me? I'm bored you know." Sirius continued, rolling up a spare piece of parchment and throwing it at her head. He could hear her grumbling to Lily as she grabbed the piece of parchment.

"Who says I'm pretending." Samiya turned around once more, throwing it back at his face.

"Miss. Rosa and Mr. Black. Do you want to share your conversation with the rest of class?" They were being so loud that they didn't notice Professor McGonagall had stopped the lesson.

"No professor." They both replied.

"Very well then. Let us continue with the lesson." But Samiya didn't get to hear much of the lesson as Sirius kept poking her in the back for the next five minutes. This was the last straw! The next time Sirius Black did anything to interrupt her; he'd be getting the verbal lashing of his life!

"Oh Rosa?"

"THAT IS IT!! CAN'T YOU GET IT THROUGH YOUR BIG HEAD THAT I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!"

"Miss Rosa. What is the meaning of this outburst?" Samiya was so angry she had forgotten she was in the middle of class. Glancing around she could see Professor McGonagall looking livid. Her lips were pursed in a tight line and her eyes flashed warningly. Samiya mumbled a quick apology before turning forward again. But not before, giving Sirius a dirty look.

"And Mr. Black. Do I even have to ask what you did?"

"It's not my fault she's desperate to date me." He smirked, running a hand through his dark hair.

"I wouldn't date you even if my life depended on it." Samiya retorted. The nerve of him! Telling everyone that she wanted to date him! Samiya couldn't deny that he was attractive, but why would she ever consider dating anyone as conceited as him?

"Frankly I don't care if you want to date each other but leave the shameless flirting out of classroom where it belongs. I'll see the both of you in detention tonight for your lack of respect for your fellow students, who actually want to pay attention to the class."

"BUT I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! IT WAS HIS FAULT!" Samiya yelled, pointing at Sirius, who took the opportunity to blow her a kiss. Lily had to hold Samiya back from killing him at this point.

"Would you like another detention Miss Rosa?"

"No. I'm sorry Professor McGonagall." Samiya said, forcing herself to calm down a bit, afraid of what shade of crimson McGonagall's face was going to turn next.

Samiya stormed into the Transfiguration classroom ready to get her detention done as quickly as possible. She hadn't had a detention in years! Not since she became serious about becoming an Auror, and Sirius Black landed her in a detention in just one day. Part of her really wanted to get another detention just for killing him but what good would that do? Well, it would take that smirk off his face that he had all day after telling everyone that she wanted to date him! And to think she had spent the rest of the day trying to avoid all his jealous admirers and ex-girlfriends who suddenly marked her as an enemy.

"Good. He's not here yet." Samiya said to herself as she began cleaning one side of the Transfiguration classroom. She made sure to grab the cleaner area of the classroom before Sirius could get there. It was the least he could do after embarrassing her like that! Soon, however, her thoughts were interrupted by the person she had now dubbed as the bane of her existence.

"So all we have to do is clean this? Not bad at all." Sirius took a seat at an empty desk opposite Samiya. "I've had worse detentions with James."

"Save it for someone who cares."

"Jeez... A little touchy tonight are we Rosa?" James was right; both of these girls were too serious. They were seventeen for crying out loud! "I was just having a little fun with you." Samiya stopped cleaning, turning towards Sirius in disbelief.

"You mean having a little bit of fun at my expense. I particularly enjoyed the part where I was threatened by half the girls at Hogwarts." She couldn't even understand why she continued to talk to him but as soon as she began, it was hard to stop talking. "Apparently there's a rumor going around that we're dating. Could you even imagine how that happened?"

"Just half the girls? Wow, I'm losing my touch." Sirius laughed. Although he did feel a little guilty about what he did, it was kind of funny to imagine all the death threats Samiya must've gotten from the girls at school. Too bad she didn't see it the same way.

The rest of the night seemed to drag on slowly, as Sirius attempted to make conversation with Samiya. He would've probably had more luck talking to the wall than his detention partner!

"So when are you going to shut up?" Sirius looked at Samiya, puzzled by her attitude. Most of the girls he dated had no problems with him talking about himself. Or maybe it was fact that they were trying to impress him. Sirius didn't really know.

"When are you going to start talking to me?" Sirius retorted, causing Samiya to sigh. It was enough to drive her crazy! Samiya had chosen to ignore him all night. It was either that, or kill him. Every word that came out of his mouth was something about either himself of one of his friends…it was sickening. And Samiya Rosa had had enough.

"If it will get you to stop talking about your adventures I just might. Alright - what do you want to know?"

"Well, I don't know! School, Quidditch, friends, the future…whatever you want to talk about." Samiya took a seat right across from her classmate, pleasantly surprised at his answer.

"School's fine. A lot of work but I'm trying to take it day by day. Besides, having Lily and Cate as your friends doesn't hurt either. As for Quidditch, I can't wait till our first match against Slytherin. I practiced a few new moves over the summer that might help us win. Cate and Lily are fine. And as for future…what can I say?"

"You have big plans for it. It seems as if you have your whole future planned out." Samiya's face brightened at Sirius' comment. He never seemed the type of guy to pay attention to those things. But then again, in a family like hers, your career was bound to be important.

"I've dreamed about taking my place beside my family since I was a little girl." Every one of them was doing something important in the war, whether it was by working in the ministry or healing the sick and wounded. Samiya couldn't have been more proud of them.

"I didn't really know what I wanted to do until I was fifteen. The night my brother in law was murdered. It sparked something in me. And from that day on I knew I wanted to be an Auror like my father and brother. Fighting dark wizards, saving lives, making a difference in the world around us. I'm sorry; you probably think I'm being silly." She hadn't meant to act so emotional in front of Sirius, but it was a matter close to her heart. She still missed her older sister, Ana's, husband. It had been the first time she had experienced the grief of losing of loved one. Although she was still grieving, she was now even more determined to fight against Voldemort and his followers once she was of age.

"I don't think you're being silly at all." Sirius couldn't help but be impressed with her. It was an honorable dream and something he completely admired "And I understand you a little better than you think."

"Really?"

"Being an Auror is the only thing that I could ever do after the war." It was the second time Sirius Black had left her speechless in a night. She had always assumed that he and James Potter never took anything seriously, including their future careers.

"The ministry is going to need all the help they can get in this war. Besides, what better way can I stand against people like my family?" He continued, lost in his thoughts. The ultimate act of defiance against his family would be to fight against everything they stand for.

"I think you'll be a great Auror." Samiya smiled. She could see the same fire in his eyes that her father had. The same passion in his voice that she had when she spoke about it. And it was obvious that Sirius had a love for the action and adventure that a career like that brought you. It was evident by all his adventures with James, Remus and Peter.

"Thank you." Now he was the one who was speechless. That was probably the first compliment Samiya had given him in seven years. Not only that but it was one of the nicest he'd ever received in his life.

"Now do you think you can tell your fan club to back off and leave me alone?"

"Why? You mean you don't want to date me?"

"Sirius Black, I'm warning you!"

"Alright! Calm down."

The rest of the night passed by quickly, as Samiya and Sirius had gone back to bickering as they usually did. But their dislike had been replaced with a new sense of respect and admiration that finding a common dream will bring you. Maybe they could learn to become friends eventually, despite the fact that Sirius was too immature and Samiya was too uptight for their own tastes. Only time will tell if that will happen.


	5. You’re falling for me and you know it

**Hey everyone! We hope that you all are enjoying the story so far! Trust me we have some great humor and drama coming up very very soon! As always, please remember to review!!!! We love hearing feedback!**

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**Chapter Five**

Severus Snape sat at the table at back corner of the Three Broomsticks. It was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the term and Lucius Malfoy had written him, instructing Snape to meet him there. Snape wasn't sure what Malfoy wanted to discuss but wasn't really surprised by the last minute request. Malfoy had taken him under his wing during his first year at Hogwarts. They had maintained their friendship even after Malfoy graduated from Hogwarts, five years ago.

"Severus" Lucius greeted as he approached the table. Snape stood from his seat and shook hands with his friend. "I'm glad that you received my message." Lucius took a seat across from table and quickly signaled for a fire whiskey from the bartender.

"What is it that you wished to talk to me about?" Snape asked, fiddling lightly with the mug of butterbeer in front of him.

"There's time for that. First I want to hear how your last year at Hogwarts is going so far? Still having trouble with the Gryffindors?" Malfoy inquired. Snape was slightly surprised that Lucius was interested. They usually got right to the point and then Malfoy was out the door. It seemed that he had other plans this time.

"It is going well. Potter and Black are as bothersome as always. Although they seemed to have some difficulty in Potions a few weeks ago." He smirked, still proud of causing the mishap in class. Lucius chuckled, remembering the pranks and fights between the boys back when Snape was in his first and second year.

"I'm sure they did. So are there any prospects in the female department this year?" Snape was surprised at the question. It was not a topic that was usually brought up between them. They usually talked about something dealing with the Dark Arts or what Malfoy needed him to do.

"I haven't noticed." Snape replied, carefully. Just what was Malfoy getting at.

"Well have you thought about dating? Or the prospect of marriage?" Lucius asked, taking a sip of his whiskey.

"This is what you thought was so imperative to meet with me about?"

"I believe that marriage could be key into the higher status that you are worthy of. Status and reputation are everything when it comes to success. I can only help you so much, Severus. My advice is for you to marry into a wealthy, pureblood family which would give you an instant increase in your status." Snape replied by giving the blonde wizard a look saying that he had lost his mind.

"I understand that you are not the most sociable person. In the years that I have known you, you have never even mentioned a girl. Now what I was thinking was an arranged marriage. It's actually a lot more common then many people think. I, myself, am undergoing an arranged marriage." Lucius stated.

"You and Narcissa Black have an arranged marriage?" Snape asked surprised. The way that he had heard Narcissa talk, her and Lucius would be deeply in love.

"Yes and it is a good match. Both of our parents set it up and I believe it will be very beneficial to both of our futures."

"Whose parents would agree to have me marry their daughter?" Snape scoffed, thinking about his low status in society and lack of reputation.

"You needn't worry about that. I will speak to the family on your behalf. In fact, there happen to be several prospects, which I think would be excellent matches for you. All I need is your consent and I will begin investigating further into the girls."

"Do you really think that something like this would be that valuable?" Snape was still skeptic about the whole idea. He never really pictured himself settling down and getting married. Especially at such a young age.

"I believe it is crucial, Severus. In fact, I insist on it." Lucius affirmed.

"Just don't pick some annoying twit who doesn't know one end of her wand from the other." Snape sighed, giving his permission to be set with an arranged marriage. What was he getting himself into? Lucius grinned, satisfied that his friend had agreed to the plan. Leaning back in his chair, he noticed a table of three girls not far from their own. One of the girls in particular caught his eye.

"Is that Catalina Bajer?"

"You mean Cate?" Snape asked, glancing over her shoulder to find the girls sitting nearby, laughing and talking loudly. He scowled at them, turning back to his friend.

"I almost forgot that she still attends Hogwarts." Lucius said thoughtfully. He quickly drained his drink and set it down on the table. He got up from his seat and headed over to the girls' table, with Snape following in tow, albeit a little broodingly.

"Catalina Bajer." Lucius smiled, approaching the Slytherin girl. Cate looked up at the sound of someone using her full name.

"Lucius! What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised to see him anywhere near Hogwarts since he had graduated. Lucius smoothly reached out, kissing the top of Cate's hand in a formal greeting. Both Samiya and Lily shared a look, trying to hide their laughter.

"Simply visiting a friend." He replied. "Who may these two lovely ladies be?" he asked, turning to the girls, with the kindness in his gesture not reflecting in his eyes.

"This is Samiya Rosa and Lily Evans, my two best friends." Cate said. "Girls this is Lucius Malfoy." Samiya looked at him and then tuned to Lily, pulling into a conversation, purposely being rude. Both Samiya and Lily remembered Lucius from when he was still at Hogwarts. He was not the nicest person, especially to muggleborns.

"I was just over at your house a few nights ago, discussing some business with your father." Lucius commented. "It seems like ages since I have been over to your estate since your mother stopped having the New Years ball." Cate's parents used to host a ball ever New Year's eve until Cate started school. It became too difficult with her traveling back and forth for the holidays.

"I actually think mother is planning on having the ball this year. She misses planning such a big event." Cate explained.

"I will be looking for my invitation then." Lucius smiled. "But I'm afraid I must go now. I have some business to finish with Severus and then must return to the manor."

"It was good seeing you, Lucius." She watched as the two of them headed outside, slipping past a group of third years as they came into the tavern. She hadn't been aware that Snape and Malfoy had continued their friendship outside of Hogwarts. That was interesting.

"Since when have you been close friends with Malfoy?" Samiya demanded, turning Cate's attention back to the table.

"He's an old friend of the family. Our parents have been friends since childhood, but I wouldn't call us friends. More like acquaintances. I haven't seen him since he graduated though." Cate explained.

"I feel like there's a whole another part of you that I don't know about!" Lily teased. Cate just rolled her eyes.

"You guys are nuts."

It didn't go unnoticed to both friends that Samiya had remained unusually quiet after her recent outburst over Cate's connection to Lucius. She continued to gaze outside the window, lost in her own thoughts until Cate tapped her softly on the shoulder.

"Is everything alright Samiya?"

"Everything's fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well for starters, you were rather rude to Lucius Malfoy a few moments ago." Lily added, with a look of concern. While Samiya was capable of being rather blunt in her dislike of others, there really wasn't a reason for her to treat Lucius Malfoy that way. Lucius, no matter what he did at school, never once did anything to any of them. Samiya sighed before replying:

"My father is heading up an investigation on the Malfoy's and their recent activities. It's been hard to find evidence on any of the members of the family but father is sure that they're following you know who." Cate and Lily both noticed that she had gone slightly pale.

"Apparently they…they've done terrible things that I shouldn't even be talking about. I just have a bad feeling about him." Samiya added, nervously before quickly changing the subject. "Who wants to go to Honeydukes?"

Cate and Lily glanced at each other briefly, confused at the change in her friend. But nethertheless, they agreed to go to Honeydukes. Maybe it was for the best to not press the matter any further. There was enough talk about the war every day to have it ruin their days in Hogsmeade, which seemed like living in a dream that was bound to end soon.

"Well if it isn't the three most beautiful girls in all of Hogwarts!" James Potter remarked as he bumped into the girls on their way to Honeydukes. It wasn't hard to spot the red haired object of his affection through the crowd and wherever Lily was; her best friends were guaranteed to be around.

"Not today Potter." Lily remarked as the girls passed by, it was particularly crowded that day in Hogsmeade and Lily had hoped to lose him the crowd but sure enough, James and his friends continued to follow them into Honeydukes. She couldn't remember how many times Potter had tried to speak with on a daily basis but at this point he should have taken a hint by now.

"Don't frown Evans…you'll never know who might be falling in love with your smile." James grinned while opening the door for her to enter. Wow…Lily did have to admit, that was probably the sweetest thing James had ever said to her but of course, you only have to leave it to your friends to ruin the mood as Cate and Samiya broke into a fit of giggles.

"Thank you James." James, who took the opportunity to nudge Sirius, knew this was his one chance to say something that would sweep Lily Evans off her feet once and for all.

"Hey Evans, the boys and I were talking and congratulations! You've been voted Most Beautiful Girl in Hogwarts."

"What?" Lily replied slightly confused by his question. James ruffled his hair before replying:

"And the grand prize is a date with me!" His chance to sweep Lily Evans off her feet had come and gone, as she took the opportunity to roll her eyes and walk away towards the display of chocoballs on a shelf. Now James was the one left confused as Sirius patted him on the back.

"Bad Luck Prongs. Now watch and see how it's done." He added, looking towards Samiya. After exchanging a quick hello with the boys she had made her way inside to stock up on sugar quills, which she always had an endless supply of. Sirius casually walked towards her knowing exactly what to say. It had worked for him more than a few times and with Samiya it wouldn't be any different.

"Oy Samiya!" Most of the customers present at Honeydukes turned towards Sirius as he yelled at the girls. He wanted to make sure that James could hear what he was doing so he'd have to be louder than usual.

"Yes Sirius." Samiya continued to look at the new sugarquill flavors before Sirius dangled two tickets in front of her face. "What are those?" She asked curiously.

"These, are tickets to the sold out Caerphilly Catapults versus Pride of Portee game on December 27."

"No way!" Samiya squealed as she grabbed a ticket from his hands while carefully inspecting it. "They're also doing a tribute to Dai Llewellyn there! How'd you get these? I've been trying for weeks to get a ticket for this game!"

"Well" He replied, taking the ticket back from her hands. "Let's just say that I have good connections. I do happen to have an extra ticket so I was wondering if you knew anyone who'd be interested in going with me to the game." Sirius added. It was easier than he though since Dai Llewellyn just so happened to be Samiya's favorite quidditch player of all time. Samiya grabbed onto Sirius and with a hint of desperation she asked:

"What do you want in exchange for that ticket? Money? Homework? What?"

"Oh…so you mean you'd love to go with me to the game wouldn't you?" Sirius turned towards Remus, Peter and James hoping they were catching every single word of this conversation.

"Well isn't it obvious! What do you want me to do? Beg?"

"I'm sure that we can come up with something." In a swift moment, he had Samiya pinned against the wall. "So what do you say to you and I talking a walk around Hogsmeade and you can work on convincing me to give you that extra ticket."

"How?" She asked nervously. What was he doing? One moment they were having a normal conversation and the next he looked as if he were going to kiss her any moment now. She could feel her heart beginning to beat a little faster as he softly caressed her cheek.

"You know what I'm talking about Sam." He began to lean in closer. Samiya quickly looked to her friends for help and caught sight of James, Remus and Peter looking intently at them. Of course! It was all an act to impress his friends. Well two could play the same game.

Before Sirius could kiss her, Samiya began to laugh. She laughed loud enough to capture everyone's attention. He quickly pulled away from her as a combination of embarrassment and confusion had taken over.

"Wow… that has to be the most ridiculous and dim witted attempt to ask a girl on a date I've ever seen. Now if you'll excuse me I have some sugar quills to pay for." Samiya softly pushed by Sirius, who at this point had gone temporarily mute in order to join her friends, who were also laughing.

What in the world just happened? Sirius Black asked himself. This was the first time a girl had ever made him look like a fool. What did he do wrong? In his opinion it was flawless! Samiya would never turn down tickets to that game and she certainly wouldn't turn down a chance to snog him! No…he was sure he had seen something in her eyes and as hard as she tried, Samiya couldn't hide the nervous tone in her voice. It was all an act on her part and he'd get her to admit to it if it was the last thing he ever did!

"Samiya wait!" Running past his friends he made his way outside where the girls where preparing to go back to the school.

"You're a terrible liar did you know that?"

"Am I really?" She asked, slightly arching an eyebrow.

"I saw it in your eyes. You're falling for me and you know it." He said, roughly pulling her close to him. She wasn't about to make him look like a fool in front of their friends. Now, when are you going to admit to it?"

"Never."

Sirius entered honeydukes once more. Samiya, Lily and Cate were on their way back to Hogwarts, probably having a good laugh at his expense along the way. But it was fine. It's not like he wanted to really date her anyway. He was just trying to help James. Besides, Samiya was too uptight for his tastes anyway.

"That went smoothly don't you think?" He joked as soon as he caught sight of his friends inside the store.

"Come on boys it's their loss. Besides, we have a prank we have to play on Snivellus." James replied, though not quite enthusiastically. Lily Evans had refused him once more. But at least it wasn't the end of the world. Besides, they had other important things to attend to.

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**I hope you enjoyed it! Please remember review and let us know what you think so far!!!**


	6. I won’t think twice about castrating you

**Sorry for the slight delay. The holidays proved to be more hectic then expected but here is the latest chapter of Deepest Star of Night. Some more updates coming in the very near future. Hint: The more you review the faster we write!!!****

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**Chapter 6**

"She is so full of it." Cate laughed as they made their way down the stairs from their Divination class. Neither her nor Samiya believed a word that came out of old Tamblyn's mouth. The professor was this tiny old lady who wore bright pink robes and was always loosing her glasses.

"Oh but you don't enjoy hearing about how you need to be wary of a gentleman wearing black?" Samiya laughed. She and Cate had taken Divination as a blow-off class, while Lilly wouldn't even think twice about stepping foot into that classroom. She found the class to be a complete waste of time. Which it was, but the other two were looking for an easy E for their final year.

"Yeah and you do realize that we all wear black robes as part of our uniform?" she replied rolling her eyes.

"Yes but there are hardly any gentlemen at Hogwarts. None that I have come across anyway."

"Very true." Cate laughed. They had just been passing by a small broom closet on the second floor, when the next thing they knew they were locked inside. The light was dim inside the closet and they could just make out the dusty shelves piled high with cleaners and a pile of brooms and mops in the far corner.

"You have better have a good explanation for this Potter." Samiya glared, noticing the Marauder grinning at them with his wand in his hand.

"You both should consider yourselves lucky being locked in a broom closet with me." James grinned, winking at the two girls.

"You have got to be kidding me." Cate sighed, rolling her eyes. She turned to open the door to leave but found that it wouldn't budge. "If you do not open this door now, I won't think twice about castrating you." She glared advancing on James, her wand ready in her hand.

"Wow and I thought you were the non-violent one." James gulped backing up slightly. There was a reason why Cate was put into Slytherin after all. Samiya had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing out loud at his face, as Cate continued to threaten him.

"So is there a reason why you locked us in here or were you really expecting a snog?" Samiya grinned. She really hoped that he wasn't that dense and they all knew he was hopelessly in love with Lily anyway.

"Well there's something but it's not that big of a deal." James casually shrugged, running his hands through his hair. Samiya eyed him carefully.

"You're up to something."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." James replied trying to look as innocent as possible.

"If this is about another prank on Snape I will have to hurt you." Cate glared, hoping that he wasn't trying to include them in on his fued with Cate's housemate.

"Aww does someone have feelings for Snivelly?" James laughed, teasing her. He quickly stopped when both girls had their wands at the ready.

"This is about Lily, isn't it?" Cate asked lowering her wand back to her side. The look of surprise on James' face confirmed it.

"Let me guess, you need some help in trying to win her over." Samiya grinned.

"And none of Sirius' advice has been working?" Cate laughed. Of course it wasn't working. Anything James did seemed to push Lily farther away. He ruffled his hair nervously. The looks on the girls faces did not seem to bode well.

"Yeah I guess you could say that." He shrugged, trying to not make a big deal out of it. But it was, in fact, the real reason why he had sought out Lily's best friends. He needed help and why not get help from the two that knew her the best?

"Well if you are serious about winning her over, you are going to have to follow our instructions. No questions asked." Samiya stated firmly. James needed a personality makeover and these were the girls to do it!

"First off, you need to stop trying so hard! You are such a show off that it's rather annoying. Especially because Lily knows you are showing off to try to impress her. Believe me, it's not working." Cate explained. Before James could defend himself, the girls continued refusing to let him argue.

"Also, what is with the snitch? I mean yes you play quidditch. I do too but you don't see me constantly playing with one. Ditch it!" Samiya stated firmly. Him playing with the snitch constantly was rather annoying. Plus it was always a pain when they would find it missing from the supply shed when they needed to practice.

"Also, stop acting like you rule the school." Cate said.

"But I don't…" James began but was quickly cut off as if he hadn't said anything at all.

"You walk around here like some pompous git and you are always abusing your headboy duties. Especially against Slytherin. There is no reason for you to take off that many points for the same things you let your housemates get away with! Use your power for good, not evil."

"Speaking of Slytherin, you need to stop picking on Snape so much." Samiya chimed in.

"Now wait a minute!" James said loudly, forcing the girls to stop their tirade. "That is just asking too much!" There was no way he was going to stop picking on Snape. This had been going on since their first year and he was not about to back down to him! Cate and Samiya rolled their eyes. Of all things to protest.

"Fine. At least don't do it in front of her. She really doesn't like it and it makes you look like a jerk. Lily doesn't date jerks." Samiya sighed.

"Above all else, you need to start showing her who you really are. James you are smart. Show her that in class. Actually try to pay attention instead of goofing off with Sirius. Also trying being nice to her and getting her to be a friend. That's what girls really want. They want to start out as friends and then that relationship will start to grow. Give her real compliments instead of cheesy pickup lines." Cate explained.

"I give her real compliments!" James protested. He had used every compliment Sirius had ever taught him.

"Hm let's think. The last compliment you gave Lily was at Hogsmeade, I believe. What was it?" Cate said thoughtfully, thinking back to a few days prior.

"You said that she had won a date with you for being voted the most beautiful girl in Hogwarts." Samiya laughed. "I give you points for being creative but that is no way to win a girl's heart."

"Well it's worked for Sirius!"

"Yeah well look at the girl's Black dates." Cate smirked. "You're lucky if they have half a brain." James went to protest but then stopped. It was mostly true after all.

"You need to focus more on her personality and achievements rather then her looks. Yes she's beautiful. We all know that you think so. But what about the rest of her?" Samiya continued.

"Try a compliment like this. The first years are lucky to have such a good example in their head girl. The headmaster really did make a good choice in choosing you for the position." Cate suggested, playing off on Lily's role at Head Girl which was a position she had worked hard for.

"That's actually not bad. Do you think she would really like to hear something like that?" James asked earnestly. It did actually sound a bit better then the corny one liners he always shouted at her in passing.

"Trust me. She would probably fall over dead if something like that came out of your mouth. But make sure you don't do it in front of a lot of people. It's more sincere when she knows you're not doing it to show off for your friends." Samiya explained. James nodded thoughtfully.

"I really appreciate the help." He said thanking them earnestly. It was a lot of information for him to process over. Saying a quick goodbye to the girls he set off back to the common room before his last class of the day.

"Bet you five galleons he botches it somehow." Cate grinned at Samiya as they continued heading down the stairs towards the kitchens; their destination before getting pulled into the closet,

"You're on!" Samiya laughed, having faith that James just may be able to pull this off.

"And I thought betting was against the rules here at Hogwarts." A snide voice remarked from behind the girls. Cate and Samiya recognized the voice instantly. Turning around they found Narcissa and a few of Cate's roommates a few feet behind them. "You know, I bet the headmaster would just love to hear about how two of the most prized students are breaking the rules."

"Oh get over yourself." Samiya said rolling her eyes. Narcissa broke more rules then any of the girls in their year. She and Cate continued walking down the stairs, trying their best to ignore the girls following them.

"Cate I really don't understand why you were made a Slytherin at all. I mean, all you do is hang around with these Gryffindor brats. You are such a disgrace to our house!" Narcissa continued, her followers laughing maliciously.

"What I do and who I am friends with is really none of your business." Cate said coolly, refusing to look at the blonde girl. Inside, she was fuming. Narcissa was starting to get on her last nerve.

""It didn't surprise me when I heard that Sirius stooped down to the gutters for a quick snog. But I mean when they come that easy, it's pretty convenient." Narcissa continued, referring to some rumors she had heard. Samiya turned whipping her wand out from her pocket but she was too slow. Narcissa was already flying through the air and landed in a heap against the wall. The other girls ran towards here screeching in worry about their leader. They stopped and let out a large gasp as Narcissa clamored to her feet.

"Oh no!" they gasped, staring at her in horror. Cate and Samiya could not contain their laughter. Narcissa whipped out a mirror from her pocket and let out a scream. Her once long white-blonde hair was now bright neon green.

"Change it back!" she screeched, advancing on the girls.

"Sorry no can do. It will wear out in a day or so." Cate said gasping from laughter.

"You will pay for this Bajer!" Narcissa glared and then ran off with the other girls trailing behind.

"Good job, Cate!" Samiya said clapping her friend on the back.

"I have been wanting to do that for a long time!" she agreed. They both burst out laughing again remembering the look on Narcissa's face.

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	7. i'd just as soon kiss Severus Snape

**A/N: Alright! Here is Chapter Seven. We realize that it's a little long but hey! When you're inspired why stop? And remember, we still don't anything remotely related to the HP world, even though we like to imagine that we do: Enjoy!**

"Alright here's the plan." Finally the time of the month that the marauders, with the exception of Remus Lupin, waited impatiently for…the week of the full moon. "We go exploring through the northern half of Hogsmeade; here, here and here." Sirius began while pointing out different sections on a map.

While Sirius Black never cared about doing anything school-related, their monthly adventures were always meticulously planned by him. In fact, the boys had arrived just before their Defense Against the Dark Arts class in order to discuss some last minute changes.

"Are there going to be any people close by?" Remus quickly asked. Even though they had experienced more than a few close calls during the last two years, Remus always seemed to force himself to forget those occasions and replace them with the desire for an adventure with his friends.

"Padfoot and I checked the other day and it's clear. Just some caves." Peter added, while cautiously looking towards the door. They had to be careful no one made their way inside and heard their conversation. Before they continue though, James sighed interrupting the planning.

"I have to do rounds with Evans that night."

"And?"

"Well Padfoot I have to figure out what to do." James replied. Ditching his rounds with Lily Evans would make it seem as if he wasn't taking his position as head boy seriously. And that's the last thing he needed to do to win her affection. At the same time, his friends needed him. And loyalty to his friends meant everything to James Potter.

"Just say no! It's not like you don't see her everyday!" Sirius couldn't help but lose his temper. Lately all that ever seemed to come out of James mouth was Evans this or Evans that. It was sickening! "So are you coming or not?"

"Of course I am." How could Sirius even doubt that James would ever leave Remus alone when he needed his friends the most? Ever since that day at Hogsmeade, Sirius would react to the mention of Evans or one her friends with a nothing but snide comments.

"Just use me as an excuse Prongs." Remus said.

But before James could answer, the sound of two front chairs hit the floor as Sirius began with his usual tirade.

"I'm sick and tired of those girls! Evans with her head girl badge telling us what to do all the time, Bajer, well she's just a Slytherin and Rosa…the ice queen of Hogwarts." The sound of a fist hitting the table was the only interruption as Sirius continued

"I can't stand her! I've never met anyone as cold as her, walking around the school thinking that she's better than everyone else because her father's famous and she can play quidditch. She's not even that pretty."

"Are you joking? Samiya's gorgeous." Sirius, James and Peter all looked towards Remus. He was always rather private in his comments concerning the female population of Hogwarts. But then again, Remus Lupin was known for being the voice of reason and he had a point. James and Peter immediately nodded, confirming that they agreed with Remus.

"Fine, she's gorgeous. Doesn't mean I'd snog her though."

"Do you like her?" Peter Pettigrew had gotten straight to the point. It was a question that had lingered on everyone's mind, ever since they were in Hogsmeade last week. At this point some students had begun to walk in the classroom, forcing the four of them to huddle closer together.

"Course not." Sirius scoffed at his friends comment. Leave it to Peter to ask the dumb question. It couldn't be more obvious how much he hated Samiya. So, they had a nice conversation during detention one time…big deal! It didn't mean they had set a wedding date or anything of the sort.

"Look, if this is about last week, I was only attempting to prove something to Prongs here." Sirius couldn't believe his ears! How could his friends believe that he'd even consider her? However, Sirius knew he hadn't imagined what he saw in Samiya's eyes. It was a matter of time before she was just another girl vying for his attention if it hadn't happened already. "Now if we're talking about Rosa having a thing for me that's another matter; Samiya can deny it all she wants but I know she's falling for me."

"Who's falling for you?" All four boys turned around slowly, towards the owner of the voice. Samiya Rosa was smiling at them, with no clue of what they had just been discussing. It didn't take long before she put the conversation and their guilty looks together. "For your sake I hope you're not starting anymore more rumors about our non-existent relationship Black!"

"Who says its non-existent?" Sirius replied with a sly smile, leaning back in his chair once more.

"You're pathetic." How thickheaded could he be? It wasn't even worth it she thought as James interrupted their conversation by greeting Cate and Lily. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that Samiya wanted to hex the smile off of Sirius Black's face, she would've found the situation around them quite funny. As James had finally taken their advice and tried to be normal for once when greeting Lily, who didn't know quite what to say.

"By the way Sirius, how many more girls did you try to beg or force to go to that game with you?" She continued. Despite the fact that Samiya would have loved to go to that game, the image of Sirius Black's first rejection by a girl was more than enough compensation for her. Even more sweet was the fact that she was the one who did it!

"Well, it isn't a matter of doing much at all. I have so many girls lined up to go that I just can't seem to choose yet. The fact that you turned me down is your loss."

Now it was Samiya's turn to frown as she turned around and walked towards her table, but not before flipping him off over her shoulder. "Like I care. Seeing as all you can find are girls with only half a brain. And don't call me Sam anymore!"

"I told you boys, it's only a matter of time before Sam admits her feelings for me!" The sound of his laughter only made it worse as Samiya sat in her seat fuming. But despite the fact that Sirius had gained the upper hand this time, James couldn't help but notice that his best friend's look of triumph faded away rather quickly. Sirius continued to stare after Samiya before shrugging and leaning back in his chair, sulking. Proving that once again, he didn't get what he wanted.

"You should try being nice to her for once." James suggested. It was the same advice he had been given previously and for once Lily didn't have an excuse to roll her eyes or insult him, leading him to the conclusion that…her friends might actually know what they're talking about!

"Why should I do that?"

"You know why. She's different from any other girl you've ever dated Padfoot." Sirius Black could deny it as much as he wanted but James knew better. The only one who seemed to be falling for anybody was his best friend. And James Potter was sure that everyone had noticed by now…with the exception of Sirius and Samiya. Looking towards the girls, they were watching them intently, Samiya with a look that could kill a man on the spot, Lily with her always present disapproving stare and Cate with a hint of a smile saying that she knew everything.

"Because you like her." Peter teased as Sirius turned his irritation towards him instead.

"Oh shut it Wormtail; you're in love with Cate!" That should shut him up! Peter's look of embarrassment was enough to change the tone of their conversation into one of laughter for Sirius as the Professor Rynder had walked inside the classroom.

Sirius yawned and stretched; Today it seemed to be another review on dark creatures which he already knew all about. Spending many nights exploring the countryside in the company of a werewolf didn't hurt much in that area. The excitement over their seventh year was beginning to disappear quickly for him as the weeks had passed with mere reviews on all the material they had learned in the past seven years. If there was a chance they would be fighting in the war soon they would need all the help they can get with some hands on experience, not reviews on animals. Honestly! Who cares? Even Moony was making an effort not to fall asleep during class and that was saying something.

But of course, there she was...Samiya Rosa raising her hand once more. Well if anything else, she'd serve enough distraction from professor for him to continue analyzing the situation at hand. He knew that his thoughts wouldn't leave him alone until he discovered the reason for his confusion.

"_Like I care. Seeing as all you can find are girls with only half a brain."_

"How dare she question my tastes? For her information I happen to choose my girlfriends very carefully. Samiya should feel priveleged of the fact that I even considered asking her out to that game when I could've asked anyone else to go"

"I thought you were only asking her to prove something to James...that was what you said to him earlier. Or was it all a lie? Did you really hope she'd say yes to you...maybe even with an extra kiss to add on to the excitement?"

"Of course not! Although it might have been fun to go with her. At least I know she would've enjoyed the game for what it was, not just as an attempt to impress me." It really was rather hard to find a girl with a genuine interest in quiddtich and in Samiya's case it was more of an obsession than a slight interest in the sport.

"So what's the problem then? She's smart, pretty, likes sports and she isn't afraid to pursue a dangerous career. She sounds like quite a catch...maybe even a challenge." Sirius frowned for a moment, going over what had just popped up in his head. It seemed like ages continued to pass as his mind battled over the recent events that had ocurred between him and Samiya.

"You should also remember what happened the last time you were in detention with her." The little voice inside his head continued. "Not a bad conversation was it? She did consider you worthy enough to become a good auror."

"So? I don't care what she thinks about me."

"Oh really? And why did that comment have you smiling for days? Just accept it Sirius, her opinion matters to you. If it didn't, you wouldn't be having this conversation in your head right now!" Well, Sirius did have to accept this for fact. Ever since that day on the Hogwarts Express every word that came out of her mouth seemed to have an effect on him, whether it was good or bad. It was confusing and downright annoying to know that there was someone he barely knew who could unnerve him like this!

"Wait a moment...what did I just say? This is Rosa we're talking about. She's pretentious and uptight, she takes herself too seriously and talk about being stubborn. It shouldn't affect me what she says but rather the other way around as Samiya was clearly jealous over the my comment (Why else would she have flipped me off?) and yet all she had to do was admit that she does like me." Sirius put his face in his hands...he was beginning to believe that he was losing his mind.

"I thought you didn't care what she thought about you" The voice replied knowing that it was winning the discussion "Or do you?"

"OH WILL YOU SHUT UP ALREADY?" Sirius bellowed. He had only meant to tell his mind to shut it but after opening his eyes briefly, he could tell that the whole class had just heard his outburst. In fact, admist the gasps and the giggles around him, all he could see was Professor Rynder's livid face as it had seemed that he had told her to shut up in the middle of class.

"What was that Mr. Black?"

"Nothing Professor Rynder. Just talking to myself." He replied, with the most charming and apologetic smile he could come up with. It didn't convince anyone however, especially Rynder.

"Be sure to stay after class Mr. Black." She replied before continuing to hand out class assignments. Shaking his head, Sirius quickly looked toward James.

"What's wrong with you mate? You just told to Rynder to shut up after she announced a special assignment." But how could Sirius Black tell his best friend that the reason for his outburst was the fact that he had been hearing strange voices in his head?

"Nothing." He replied quickly before attempting to pay attention to class. But before Sirius could bring his attention back to Defense Against the Dark Arts he caught of a pair of eyes looking straight at him. They belonged to Samiya Rosa. And the strange thing was, her eyes showed genuine concern for his outburst and nothing more.

It was the first time Sirius noticed the fact that her eyes tended to change, sometimes showing hints of green instead of brown, he remembered how they seemed to hold a twinkle when she was having a laugh at his expense. Sometimes they even seemed to relect her feelings and passions like that time in detention or whenever she insulted him. They were the most expressive pair of eyes he had ever seen.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" He asked himself. It was as if in some way he had begun to see her in whole new light even though she looked the same five minutes before. Remus was right about Samiya...she was gorgeous. But it wasn't just because of what she had always looked liked on the outside. It was a beauty that radiated from within and it only took one look from her to make him realize that.

" You're falling in love with her."

"No. I don't fall in love with anyone, especially Rosa. Besides I don't even know her that well." And Sirius wasn't interested in getting to know her as far as he was concerned.

"And why not? What's stopping you from taking a chance? Is it because she rejected you?" Sirius shook his head, as if he could get his mind to keep quiet like this. "You've never once backed down from a challenge or taken no for an answer. So, you say she's pretentious and uptight...do you really know that? Or would you rather take the time to find out if she really is an ice queen?"

"Face it Sirius Black. The faster you admit that you like Samiya you can stop driving everyone else nuts and show her that she's been wrong about you all along. She might even admit how she really feels about you." Sirius took a deep breath and looking over at Samiya he finally admitted to what already knew in some deep part of his mind but could never quite admit to...He fancied Samiya Rosa. Great! Now what was he supposed to do?

"_She's different from any other girl you've ever dated Padfoot."_

Prongs was right. It was as good a time as ever to admit that his usual tactics hadn't and wouldn't work with her. He'd have to try something different. Just then, he was brought back to earth by the sound of Professor Rynder's voice once more.

"Potter and Evans you'll be writing an informative paper on the Dementor." Sirius couldn't help but chuckle at his best friends look of pure joy contrary to Evans disappointed face. The Professor continued:

"Miss Bajer and Mr. Snape will inform on the Kappa." He didn't think that anyone would look more unhappy than Evans until he saw Cate. It seemed that Samiya didn't have a partner yet...a great opportunity for him if they do get paired up together.

"And Miss Rosa, you and Mr. Lupin will inform on the Chimaera. Well that's about it for assignments. You have until the first week of November to turn in your finished work."

"Wait a moment Professor I think there's been a mistake in the selection of partners." Sirius interrupted. Professor Rynder looked at him in astonishment before allowing him to continue with a slight nod. "So I fully suggest that we start all over again. Maybe we can choose our own partners for once...What do you think?" He added, looking expectantly towards James for support who quickly answered:

"Sorry. You're on your own this time." He wasn't about to lose his chance to spend more time with Evans for anything. But Sirius did understand, because at this moment he was willing to stop Samiya from having any other partner that wasn't him. And that included Remus Lupin. Maybe it was jealousy or craziness on his part but Sirius didn't really care at this point.

"Mr. Black let me remind you that only I have the authority to make decisions in this classroom. That's why i'm called a teacher. Expect more than a week of detention for your off handed remarks. Now class is over, you're all dismissed. Except you Mr. Black."

* * *

"Alright team this is it! Our first game of the season." James Potter began his usual pep talk before the first quidditch practice of the year. It was always the same with a pep talk, a discussion on new strategies and then Captain James Potter would make them practice until they were barely alive. But all in all, everyone knew that the Gryffindor Quiddtich team was the best in the school and this was mainly why no one complained over the extra work. They weren't about to lose the quidditch cup to Slytherin anytime soon, especially during James and Samiya's final year. "First of all I'd like to congratulate everyone on winning the cup last year and thank my Co-Captain and Seeker for leading the team to our fifth straight victory while I was in detention."He added, while patting Samiya on the back.

James Potter had landed himself in so many detentions in the last two years that Samiya would take over the team repeatedly, eventually establishing herself as his co-captain. It had proven to be a success despite the fact that they didn't always get along outside of the quidditch pitch. Samiya laughed slightly at the memory of their last match before continuing:

"And lets hope that our Captain and new Head Boy doesn't get into any more trouble this year. I love playing at being captain but for now i'd really like to focus on catching the snitch." The rest of the team nodded, agreeing with Samiya. Even though she had been a good captain, James was a natural leader. "Besides we all need to work extra hard seeing as the Slytherin team has put together a good front this year."

The rest of the team began to voice their disgust over the mention of the Slytherin team while some even made obsene gestures. James laughed loudly at their reaction before continuing. "Rosa's right. I managed to spy on them yesterday. Just because we're the better team doesn't mean we can let our guard down.

"We have a reputation to maintain." Samiya chimed in " Ollerton left the team in our care before he left Hogwarts. It's in our hands to keep the quidditch cup forever if it's possible." As the veteran players of the team, Samiya and James were under alot of pressure to continue the legacy that had been left behind by Mark Ollerton, their previous captain. In Samiya's (and everyone in Gryffindor House's) opinion, Ollerton was a living legend, even playing for the Montrose Magpies before leaving Hogwarts.

"Which brings us to some new strategies." James added, getting to business. Samiya could talk about Mark Ollerton about as much as she could about Dai Llellewyn...too much! And James Potter did have alot to do today!

While Potter diligently went over the team's new strategy for the year, Samiya allowed her thoughts to drift towards her own thoughts on this upcoming year. Seven years had passed by in what to be a blink of a eye and now here they were...the last quidditch season of not only the year but of her life. At the end of this year life would stop revolving around school, friends and quidditch to the realities of the world around them. They would stop being children and become adults, with responsibilties and dreams to accomplish. Many times she felt as if she couldn't wait to get out there and fight but now, Samiya could only wonder if this would be the last time her team would all stand here together, laughing like this. Would any of them die before this war ended? What if she died?

"It's time to go outside and put this plan into action!" James called out as he ran outside into the field, broomstick in hand. "You coming Rosa?"

"Yeah hold on." Samiya ran outside while waving to Lily and Cate in the stands. Well if life were to end that way for her than so be it. The best she could do for now is live life to the fullest and take advantage of whatever happened this year. There would be plenty of time to worry about what hadn't happened yet. It was time to have fun and wait...what was he doing here?

Sure enough, the bane of her existnce, Sirius Black, was sitting in the stands, alone for once. That was odd since it was rare to see any of the marauders alone, especially at a quidditch practice, where they usually spent their time being obnoxious and distracting the players from their practice. It was the last person on earth that Samiya wanted to see as she was still angry over his comments throughout the year.

But why did it bother her so much? Sirius was just being his usual annoying self. Thinking that he was the most beautiful thing on Earth. As if that gave him the right to believe that he deserved everything based on looks and charm alone...it was sickening!

"Samiya, I'm releasing the snitch! Let's see what you've got."

She quickly took towards the air, letting the wind, blow in her face. Flying was always a good opportunity to relax and unwind. But right now it seemed difficult to concentrate on anything else than the last Hogsmeade weekend.

"What he did was despicable and low. Using me as entertainment for his friends, blackmailing me with quidditch tickets in exchange for a snog, almost forcing me to kiss him in front of our friends. The list didn't end! Then he was the audacity to say that it's my loss? I wouldn't date him even if "you know who" forced me to!"

"Really? You could've fooled me." A voice inside her head, quite similar to her, own laughed.

"What?" Great! Now she was hearing voices in the middle of practice. Samiya stopped flying for a moment, knowing that until she got her mind under control it would be impossible to catch the snitch. "I don't know what you're taking about!"

"I'm talking about how Sirius may know you a little better than you think. You wanted him to kiss you...even if just for a moment." Samiya knew that at this moment she had just gone insane.

"That's insane!" Samiya replied quickly. "I'd just as soon kiss Severus Snape than him." This is the same boy that spread that stupid rumor about them dating, who suggested more than once for them to get "better acquianted" and landed her in her first detention in ages.

"Don't complain. That detention didn't go as bad as you had thought Samiya. You were rather impressed with him!"

"He was probably just making all that stuff up. Trying to make himself look better." Samiya continued to reason with the voice, as she noticed the snitch fly right by her. She didn't care what the voice continued to say, Samiya hated Sirius. She had no interest in liking him today, tomorrow or in the next century even.

"That was probably the only sincere thing that has come out of his mouth since you first met him and you know it!"

"ENOUGH! I DON'T LIKE HIM ALRIGHT! He's not my type at all." Samiya replied. "He's lazy, conceited and an absolute prat, plus he doesn't play quidditch. He spends his time making others look bad at his expense and can never keep a girlfriend for long." These were all in all the worst qualities for a boyfriend in her opinion. And Samiya Rosa was determined never to become one of his swooning admirers, she knew there was more to look forward to.

"He's also also attractive, charming and smart. A wonderful combination."

"SAMIYA! A WORD PLEASE!" James Potter voice interrupted her thoughts. She groaned while reaching land once more, knowing that Potter was going to have her head for missing the snitch.

"Care to tell me what's the problem?" He asked, looking quite a bit like a detective in one of Lily's muggle books. He was studying her quietly, as if he was trying to read her mind.

"Nothing." Samiya shrugged. Well, She couldn't tell him the truth now could she? Would anyone ever believe that the reason for her distraction were the voices in her head? Looking behind James she could see Sirius watching them closely, most likely wondering what was going on. Samiya quickly lowered her head before Potter would notice.

"Oh really? Then why is it that you've missed the snitch three times already? Once it was right by your ear. Whatever it is that's got you distratcted needs to be fixed before the game is that clear?"

"Yes James." She replied, her eyes unconciously glancing towards the stands once more. Unfortunately for her at this point, James turned around, quickly spotting his best friend. His frown immediately changed into a huge grin at as he clearly knew what the problem was.

"Oh...so that's the problem." He laughed. "You fancy Sirius."

"I do not!" Samiya was seething at the mere thought of this. So much that she punched James on the shoulder as hard as she could.

"OUCH. You girls are so violent. It wasn't like I planned on teling him anyway." James rubbed his arm before walking away. He didn't consider it a bad idea if Sirius and Samiya dated each other. It would be better than the last couple of Sirius'girlfriends he had to put up with. Plus, it would mean extra time with Lily. "I'm giving you one last chance to catch the snitch or I'm telling Padfoot that his presence is distracting you!" James added.

Samiya angrily grabbed her broom and took to the sky once more. Just her luck! Now James thought that she liked that git Sirius. Oh she'd never hear the end of this! Samiya needed to catch the snitch soon since she was positive that James would tell Sirius the truth.

"The truth? So you are admitting your feelings?" The voice laughed once more.

"Never. And I'm telling you like I told him last week.

"Then why are you so angry at him then? The mere thought of Sirius taking another girl to that game is driving you crazy. That and the fact that you almost kissed."

"No. I'll admit that I wanted to go the game but I never said I wanted to be his date!" Samiya quickly caught sight of the snitch some distance away. "Besides, I didn't try to kiss him, he tried to kiss me! Besides, this is the worst possible time to snog anyone. I have schoolwork, then auror training. Dating would be a terrible distraction for me."

Reaching out her hand, Samiya was moments away from catching the snitch when she realized she was losing the battle with her mind. "Stop trying to control your own life! You can't choose who you love or when it happens...it just does. Now, hurry up and accept the fact that you're crazy about him and that way I can stop talking to you like you're mental."

A few seconds later, Samiya was on the ground. All she could remember was grabbing the snitch, and then losing her grip on the broomstick. She had gone flying towards the ground and was now nursing a bloody nose and her wounded pride.

"Samiya are you alright?" Lily pulled out her wand, clearly worried about her friends condition. "Here you go..._Episkey_"

Cate quickly handed her a handkerchief to wipe the blood of her face. "That was a briliant catch Samiya. Crazy but briliant."

"Thanks Cate."

"Excellent catch Rosa. I think we have a clear shot of winning the cup if you keep playing like this." James added, leaning closer that that she could only hear him. "I think i'll ask Padfoot to come watch you play more often."

Samiya knew she was in for trouble now. James would never be able to keep his mouth shout around his best friend. She knew that Sirius Black would know how she really felt about him in about five minutes, maybe even less than that.

Just then, a hand reached out, helping her up of the ground. Looking up she tried to hide a smile as the hand belonged to the one person she had been dreading to speak to. It was amazing how there was someone in the world who could make her so angry and yet bring a smile to her face and joy to her heart in just a moment. Samiya had never met a person who had made her feel like that. It was scary to know that someone you barely knew could have that power over your feelings.

"Feeling ok?" He asked, with a look of concern. Samiya nodded, as she couldn't quite finds the right words to say to him. "That was a truly amazing Samiya. You would've made "Dangerous Dai" proud today." He smiled, before walking away with James.

She continued to watch them walk towards the school, knowing that she had finally lost the battle against her heart. Samiya didn't quite know what to do next except enjoy the moment. That or worry about what would happen next. If Sirius ever found she'd never hear the end of him knowing that he was right all along.

"Umm... I think we need to talk." Samiya looked towards her best friends for support. She knew that they could further help her figure out her feelings. After they laughed hysterically at her of course.

"Sure. Maybe you can tell us why you're blushing like mad."

"Oh stop it Cate." Lily said, playfully pushing a laughing Cate. "Is this an occasion for ice cream?"

"Yes. Lots of it." Samiya replied, as they followed the boys back into the school for some well deserved ice cream and some girl talk.

**Hope you enjoyed! Please remember to R&R.**


	8. Two words Broom Closet

Chapter Eight

"Alright team, this is it! Our first practice of the season." James Potter began his usual pep talk at the start of each season. It was always the same—a discussion on new strategies and then Captain James Potter would make them practice until they were barely alive. But all in all, everyone knew that the Gryffindor Quidditch team was the best in the school and this was the main reason why no one complained over the extra work. They weren't about to lose the Quidditch cup to Slytherin anytime soon, especially during James and Samiya's final year. "First of all, I'd like to congratulate everyone on winning the Cup last year and thank my co-captain and Seeker for leading the team to our fifth straight victory while I was in detention," he added, while patting Samiya on the back.

James had landed himself in so many detentions in the last two years that Samiya had to take over the team repeatedly, eventually establishing herself as his co-captain. It had proven to be a success, despite the fact that they didn't always get along outside of the Quidditch pitch.

Samiya laughed slightly at the memory of their last match before continuing, "And let's hope that our Captain and new Head Boy doesn't get into any more trouble this year. I love playing at being captain but for now I'd really like to focus on catching the snitch." The rest of the team nodded, agreeing with Samiya. Even though she had been a good captain, James was a natural leader. "Besides we all need to work extra hard seeing as the Slytherin team has put together a good front this year."

The rest of the team began to voice their disgust over the mention of the opposing team and some even made some obscene gestures. James laughed loudly at their reaction. "Rosa's right. I managed to spy on them yesterday. Just because we're the better team doesn't mean we can let our guard down. Which brings us to the new strategies."

While Potter diligently went over the team's new strategy for the year, Samiya allowed her thoughts to drift towards her own feelings about this upcoming year. Six years had passed by in what seemed to be a blink of an eye and now here they were—the last Quidditch season of not only the year, but of her life. At the end of this year, life would stop revolving around school, friends, and Quidditch and they would be thrown into the reality of the world around them. They would stop being children and become adults with responsibilities and dreams to accomplish. Many times she felt as if she couldn't wait to get out there and fight, but now, Samiya could only wonder if this would be the last time her team would stand here together, laughing like this.

"It's time to go outside and put this plan into action!" James called out as he ran outside onto the field, broomstick in hand. "You coming, Rosa?"

"Yeah, hold on!" Samiya ran outside while waving to Lily and Cate in the stands. The best she could do for now was live life to the fullest and take advantage of whatever happened this year. There would be plenty of time to worry about what hasn't happened yet. It was time to have fun and... What was _he_ doing here?

Sure enough, the bane of her existence, Sirius Black, was sitting in the stands, alone for once. It was rare to see any of the Marauders alone, especially at a Quidditch practice, where they usually spent their time being obnoxious and distracting the players. He was the last person on Earth Samiya wanted to see since she was still angry about his comments throughout the year. 

Why did it bother her so much? Sirius was just being his usual annoying self by thinking that he was the most beautiful thing on Earth. As if that gave him the right to believe that he deserved everything based on looks and charm alone—it was sickening!

"Samiya, I'm releasing the snitch! Let's see what you've got."

She quickly took to the air, letting the wind blow in her face. Flying was always a good opportunity to relax and unwind. But right now it seemed difficult to concentrate on anything other than the last Hogsmeade weekend.

'What he did was despicable and low. Using me as entertainment for his friends, blackmailing me with Quidditch tickets in exchange for a snog, almost forcing me to kiss him in front of our friends. The list doesn't end! Then he has the audacity to say that it's my loss? I wouldn't date him even if You-Know-Who forced me to!'

_Really? You could've fooled me,_ a voice inside her head, quite similar to her own, laughed.

What? Great! Now she was hearing voices in the middle of practice. Samiya stopped flying for a moment, knowing that until she got her mind under control it would be impossible to catch the snitch. 'I don't know what you're taking about!'

_I'm talking about how Sirius may know you a little better than you think. You wanted him to kiss you...even if just for a moment."_ Samiya knew that at this instant she had just gone insane.

"That's ridiculous!" (repetitive) Samiya thought quickly. "I'd just as soon kiss Severus Snape than him." This is the same boy that spread that stupid rumor about them dating, who suggested more than once for them to get 'better acquainted' and landed her in her first detention in ages.

_Don't complain. That detention didn't go as bad as you had expected, Samiya. You were rather impressed with him!_

'He was probably just making all that stuff up. Trying to make himself look better.' Samiya continued to internally reason with the voice, as she noticed the snitch fly right past her. She didn't care what the voice continued to say—Samiya hated Sirius. She had no interest in liking him today, tomorrow, or even in the next century.  

_That was probably the only sincere thing that has come out of his mouth since you first met him and you know it!_

'ENOUGH! I DON'T LIKE HIM, ALRIGHT! He's not my type at all,' Samiya replied. 'He's lazy, conceited, an absolute prat, and he doesn't play Quidditch. He spends his time making others look bad for his own amusement and can never keep a girlfriend for long.' These were all the worst qualities for a boyfriend in her opinion.

_He's also attractive, charming and smart; a wonderful combination._

"SAMIYA! A WORD PLEASE!" James Potter's voice interrupted her thoughts. She groaned while reaching land once more, knowing that Potter was going to have her head for missing the snitch.

"Care to tell me what the problem is?" he asked, looking quite a bit like a detective in one of Lily's muggle books. He was studying her quietly, as if he was trying to read her mind.

"Nothing," Samiya shrugged. Well, she couldn't tell him the truth, now could she? Would anyone even believe that the reasons for her distraction were the voices in her head? Looking behind James, she could see Sirius watching them closely, most likely wondering what was going on. Samiya quickly lowered her head before Potter would notice.

"Oh, really? Then why is it that you've missed the snitch three times already? Once, it was right by your ear. Whatever it is that has you distracted needs to be fixed before the game, is that clear?"

"Yes, James," she replied, her eyes unconsciously glancing towards the stands once more. Unfortunately for her, James turned around, quickly spotting his best friend. His frown immediately changed into a huge grin, as he then clearly knew what the problem was.

"Oh... so that's the problem," he laughed. "You fancy Sirius."

"I do not!" Samiya glared darkly and punched James on the shoulder as hard as she could.

"OUCH! You girls are so violent. It wasn't like I planned on telling him anyway." James rubbed his arm before walking away. He didn't consider it a bad idea if Sirius and Samiya dated each other. It would be better than the last couple of Sirius' girlfriends he had to put up with. Plus, it would mean extra time with Lily. "I'm giving you one last chance to catch the snitch or I'm telling Padfoot that his presence is distracting you!"

Samiya angrily grabbed her broom and took to the sky once more. Just her luck, now James thought she liked that git. Oh, she'd never hear the end of this! Samiya needed to catch the snitch soon since she was positive that James would tell Sirius the truth.

_The truth? So you are admitting your feelings?_ The voice laughed once more.

'Never! I'm telling you like I told him last week, it will never happen!' Again, Samiya started the internal argument with herself.

_Then why are you so angry at him? The mere thought of Sirius taking another girl to that game is driving you crazy. That and the fact that you almost kissed him._

'No, I'll admit that I wanted to go the game, but I never said I wanted to be his date!' Samiya quickly caught sight of the snitch some distance away. 'Besides, I didn't try to kiss him, he tried to kiss me! Anyway, this is the worst possible time to snog anyone. I have schoolwork, then Auror training. Dating would prove to be a terrible distraction for me.'

Reaching out her hand, Samiya was moments away from catching the snitch when she realized she was losing the battle with her mind. _Stop trying to control every little thing in your life! You can't choose who you love or when it happens...it just does. Now, hurry up and accept the fact that you're crazy about him and that way I can stop talking to you like you've gone mental._

A few seconds later, Samiya was on the ground. All she could remember was grabbing the snitch, and then losing her grip on the broomstick. Now she was nursing a bloody nose and her wounded pride.

"Samiya, are you alright?" Lily pulled out her wand, clearly worried about her friend's condition. "Here you go. Episkey." Immediately, her nose was healed and the pain disappeared. Cate quickly handed her a handkerchief to wipe the blood of her face.

"That was a brilliant catch, Samiya. Crazy, but brilliant."

"Thanks, Cate."

"Excellent catch, Rosa. I think we have a clear shot of winning the Cup if you keep playing like this." James grinned, leaning closer that that she could only hear him. "I think I'll ask Padfoot to come watch you play more often."

Samiya knew she was in for trouble now. James would never be able to keep his mouth shut around his best friend. Sirius Black would know how she really felt about him in about five minutes, maybe even less than that.

Just then, a hand reached out, helping her up off the ground. Looking up, she tried to hide a smile as the hand belonged to the one person she had been dreading to speak to. It was amazing how there was someone in the world that could make her so angry and yet bring a smile to her face and joy to her heart. Samiya had never met a person who had made her feel like that. It was scary to know that someone you barely knew could have that power over your feelings.

"Feeling okay?" he asked with a look of concern. Samiya nodded, as she couldn't quite find the right words to say to him. "That was a truly amazing, Samiya. You would've made Dangerous Dai proud today." He smiled, before walking away with James. She continued to watch them walk towards the school, knowing that she had finally lost the battle against her heart. Samiya didn't quite know what to do next except enjoy the moment.

"Umm... I think we need to talk." Samiya looked towards her best friends for support. She knew that they could further help her figure out her feelings. After they laughed hysterically at her, of course.

"Sure. Maybe you can tell us why you're blushing like mad."

"Oh, stop it," Lily said, playfully pushing a laughing Cate. "Is this an occasion for ice cream?"

"Yes, lots of it," Samiya replied, as they followed the boys back into the school for some well-deserved ice cream and some girl talk.


	9. Your father must be very ashamed

**Chapter 9**

This was absolutely ridiculous! It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and Cate had been stuck in the library since six o'clock that morning. She had been trying to sneak down to the kitchens when she was thwarted by Severus Snape, who promptly dragged her to the library stating they need to work on their project. It wasn't due for weeks yet!

"Can we at least take a break?" she sighed, tapping her quill on the table, ignoring the fact that she was splattering ink onto the wood. He continued to ignore her as he carefully studied the rather old and moldy smelling book in front of him. Rolling her eyes in annoyance, she laid her head down on the table. Well, if he wasn't going to talk to her, she might as well take a nap.

Suddenly she yelled as _someone_ grabbed her hair from behind and gave a rather sharp yank, causing her to quickly lift her head off the table. Eyes watering slightly from the pressure being put on her scalp, she glared darkly at Snape, whose wand was pointed casually at her as he flipped through the pages of the book.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" she screeched, trying to loosen the invisible hold on her hair.

"It seems that you need help staying awake," he said silkily, giving her a rather annoyed look. He wasn't about to do the entire project by himself. Although at the rate they were going, it might not have been a bad idea. He would certainly get more work done by himself than having to _share_ the responsibility with some bumbling idiot.

"You have no right to hex me!" Snape sighed and with a soft flick of his wand the pain stopped and Cate was able to move her head without having any hairs ripped out of it. Wishing that she had the courage to curse him out, Cate sighed and pulled a book in front of her. The quicker they got this done, the quicker she could be outside with her friends.

It didn't take her very long to find some information about the Kappa. The book she had conveniently grabbed was called _Dark Creatures of East Asia_. "It says here that the Kappa originated in Japan. They are a water demon, preferring rivers and ponds." Cate read aloud, relieved at finally finding some useful information on their topic.

"That information is incorrect." Snape frowned, looking up from the book he was reading. "The Kappa is found in Mongolia."

"Don't look at me! I didn't write the book!" Cate argued. "It says it right here—the Kappa, also called the Gataro or the Kawako, is found on the Pacific islands of Japan."

"And again, I will tell you that you are incorrect. Kappas _are_ found in rivers and ponds; not in Japan, but in central Asia, specifically in Mongolia." Snape pointed to the information in the book that he had currently been reading. She studied it for a moment and then leaned back in her chair with a smirk on her face.

"Your book is wrong."

"Why is it that you automatically assume that I am the one that is wrong?" He glared at her. The information was in front of her face, as plain as day! Any ideas of her being somewhat competent had just flown out the window.

"I never said that _you_ were wrong, Severus." Cate grinned. She knew that she had struck a nerve. It was rather fun to get him all riled up. She could see why the Marauders always picked on him. "I said that _your book_ was wrong...and it is."

"You impertinent child," Snape spat out cruelly. Cate's grin quickly turned into a frown. Did he really just call her a child? What was she? Two?

"Don't you dare talk to me like that!"

"You know what your problem is, Bajer? You are afraid." Snape sneered standing over her with his hands laid flat on the table. "You are afraid to be a pureblood and all the title and reputation that comes from it. Your father must be very ashamed."

"You know nothing about my father!" Cate cried out in shock and outrage, tears glinting in her eyes. The problem was, that there _was_ some truth to his words.

"I know more then you think. I know more than your Gryffindor friends do." He sneered, his eyes glittering with the fact that he was right. Cate looked at him in the eye and realized that he knew! Severus Snape knew that her father was not only a supporter of You-Know-Who, but was also one of his growing number of followers. She had never told anyone about this. Not even her best friends! "It would be intriguing to see what your friends would say if they knew who you really were outside of Hogwarts."

"How about you keep your beak of a nose out of my business!" Cate glared hatefully, tossing her books and parchment into her bag. Before he could stop her she was practically running out of the library. Snape did not fail to see the silent tears streaming down her face. For a fleeting moment he actually felt some remorse but shrugged it off as he turned back to his book.

Cate hurried outside pushing past a group of Ravenclaws, ignoring the rude stares she was getting. All she wanted was to get as far away from the library and that arrogant Slytherin as possible. How did he know? Someone had to have told him - but who? No one at school knew her secret. At least not that she knew of. Of all people to find out the truth, why did it have to be him?

"Cate!" a loud shout echoed across the courtyard. She looked up and immediately saw Samiya and Lily waving at her from underneath a large tree by the lake. What would they say if they knew the truth? Would they turn from her like she had always feared? Like Snape had insinuated? Pushing the tormenting thoughts away, she slowly made her way to her friends.

"Where have you been all morning? We almost broke into the Slytherin common room to search for you." Samiya grinned as Cate reached them.

"One word…Snape." She groaned as she plopped down onto the grass. The Marauders were sitting with them as well, and Cate was surprised there hadn't been any bloodshed…yet.

"Snivellus?" Sirius asked, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "What were you doing with Snivellus?" Why would anyone want to spend even one second with the greasy-haired git?

"Are you jealous that Snape got more action then you?" Samiya laughed.

"What are you trying to do? Make me sick?" Cate groaned, turning slightly green at the very idea of snogging Snape. She wasn't the only one, as all the boys cringed at the idea.

"Oh please, are you kidding me? I get more action than Snivelly does in my sleep!" Sirius laughed, stretching out on the grass comfortably. "If you're so curious we could meet in the broom closet on the fourth floor. You can see the full extent of my experience."

"If you keep dreaming, then maybe one day it will come true." Samiya grinned. Sirius couldn't help but smile back and think about how he had this girl wrapped around his finger. If only it was that easy!

"If you two are done with the innuendo…" Lily said with a roll her eyes. Although even she had to admit the two were falling quickly for each other. They did make a rather cute couple, if you could look past the bickering.

"So what did Snape do to get you all riled up?" Remus asked Cate, turning their attention back to the Slytherin girl.

"Well first, he dragged me off to the library before any other sane person was even awake in the castle," she sighed.

"What a way to put the moves on a girl, Snivellus!" Sirius joked.

"Please don't make me hex you," Cate said with false cheerfulness. Samiya and Lily had to bite their lip to keep from laughing out loud at the look on the boys' faces. They had never seen Cate so irritated before.

"So did he try to have his way with you?" James teased. Sure he had decided to try and be nicer, but he wasn't a saint!

"No!" Cate couldn't help but laugh. "We were working and then we started arguing over the paper. He went too far and made some rude insults about my family."

"You shouldn't let him get to you," Remus said gently. He could easily tell that whatever it was that Snape had said upset Cate greatly. If only they knew the whole truth of what had happened—but they could never know. She couldn't risk losing them.

"What he needs to do is keep his mouth shut," Peter chimed in, trying to look tough and impressive. Samiya nudged Lily. It was well known that Peter had a thing for Cate since their first year.

"You know, Bajer, all you have to do is ask and we can easily make Snivellus pay," Sirus said casually, fiddling with his wand in his hand.

"Hexing him is not the answer." Lily frowned. "He's just doing it to get your attention."

"If he wants attention, we can give it to him!" Samiya grinned, for once agreeing with what Sirius had in mind.

"Hey, Evans is right. We should just ignore him, especially if he is just looking for a fight," James commented and almost regretted it for the look of shock on his friends' faces. Sirius, Peter, and Remus were all staring at him with identical looks of horror, while Cate and Samiya had to quickly hide their grins. But best of all, Lily seemed to be very impressed. Maybe this would work after all!

"Are you feeling okay, Prongs?" Peter stammered, while Sirius couldn't even seem to express what he wanted to say.

"Mates, we are seventh years! We need to start focusing on the future instead of wasting time by goofing off," James stated, trying to act more mature than usual. Cate and Samiya's grins quickly turned into laughter, which they quickly smothered behind their hands. This was a very different James indeed! On the other hand, Lily couldn't help but smile. It was as if she was seeing James Potter in a new light.

"Well, if you decide to hex Snape, make sure you tell him it's from me," Cate grinned. Even though James said they should leave him alone, she knew that her housemate would have some sort of hex thrown at him by the end of the week.

"Speaking of which, I need to get started on that project," Samiya said lamely, standing up from her spot on the lawn. She had noticed Lily's changed attitude toward James and wanted to give them some alone time. Fortunately, Remus caught on and stood up to leave as well. Cate glanced at Peter and Sirius who were both oblivious to what they were trying to do. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed Peter by the arms hauling him to his feet, while Samiya grabbed hold of Sirius.

"Let's go, boys." Cate grinned, winking at James as they led the rest of the Marauders back towards the castle. Unnoticed, Lily slid closer to James as they continued to talk. James sent a silent thank you to the two angels who gave him some very fruitful advice.

"So, you're finally taking me up on that offer, eh, Rosa?" Sirius smirked, throwing his arm around her shoulders.

"What offer?" Samiya was almost too afraid to ask.

"Two words," he replied, leaning in closely. "Broom. Closet." Samiya rolled her eyes and smacked him hard on the arm. Why couldn't she have one who followed her beck and call like Peter did with Cate? The boy was practically drooling over the Slytherin girl for the simple fact that she had touched his arm. It was actually pathetically cute, if there was ever such a thing.

"Oh, shut it, you prat!" Samiya laughed. Like she would ever think about entering a broom closet with _him_ of all people. Or maybe she was just in denial.

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